Is It Hard or Easy to Learn Salesforce

Is Salesforce easy to learn? So you want to learn a new skill, eh? One glaring question that will inevitably pop up when tackling/learning a new skill will surely be…"How difficult will this be to learn?" Well, "difficulty" is relative and may be hard to quantify from person to person, but if you are focused and willing to put in the effort, the main determining factor of how easy something is to learn…would be access to learning resources.

Ok, so in this imaginary blog example the skills that you want to improve or attain are related to becoming a Salesforce professional…so "Is Salesforce Easy to Learn?" Well, you are in luck! As I mentioned, any topic can be made exponentially more easy to learn with the right resource, and in Salesforce's case, I found it to be one of the most open, and 'learnable' platforms.

Salesforce as a company and as an ecosystem is growing, and with the recent acquisition of Slack, you can only expect that to continue. Salesforce is amazing about encouraging growth within their platform, and one of their mantras is to focus on making things easier. Now, obviously, it benefits them to have a wealth of eager individuals knowledgable about and using their product, but they really do put effort into creating and providing these learning resources…and I've used them at length.

When I was approached by my previous manager and offered an opportunity to become a Salesforce Administrator; I was essentially a blank canvas, from a Salesforce perspective. I worked in Salesforce as an end-user in my role as a pre-sales support engineer, but my exposure to Salesforce was minimal. I would only use one component to log details from calls and engagements with potential customers. It was essentially a survey, noting what was discussed in client meetings; and that was the extent of my experience with Salesforce.

So to say that getting my Admin Certification within a few months was, initially, a scary and anxiety-ridden proposition would be an understatement. Though, luckily, and to my surprise, I quickly found an abundance of resources to help. These resources have only gotten more prevalent in the years since I became certified. So this is my "Guide to Salesforce Learning Resources."

Trailhead
The first stop I would suggest for anyone interested in learning anything Salesforce-related would be Trailhead. Trailhead is an amazing, completely free resource created and maintained by Salesforce. Their content is offered up in modules, like many online exercises, consisting of some reading and a learning portion, then culminating in some sort of multiple choice quiz or an activity for you to perform to apply and reinforce the knowledge on the topic that you just learned. Salesforce also provides access to 'Playgrounds', which are free-of-charge, fully-functioning Salesforce environments where you can get hands-on experience building and interacting with Salesforce. To make Trailhead even more enjoyable, it is gamified. For each course/module you take, you accrue points and get a badge; similar to being a scout.

The platform has evolved and expanded to include more advanced topics. Salesforce has even curated 'Trails' and 'Superbadges', which are clusters of similarly-focused modules that all focus on knowledge in a particular area of study, so you have options. Whether you are in Marketing, Billing, Sales, Support, or Development. There is a Trailhead learning path for you.

Getting started in Trailhead is a snap. You create a free account, where you can log in, track your progress, save modules or trails on topics that you want to learn or concepts that you may want to revisit. I can't think of a better place to get started with learning Salesforce than Trailhead; with its well thought out, clearly written, and bite-sized content. Did I mention it's free?

Salesforce Documentation
Salesforce also has a vast catalog of documentation and training materials. They provide complete guides that break down features and meticulously detail individual Salesforce products. (Like this Sales Cloud Implementation Guide) — These guides are updated frequently as well, often alongside new releases of Salesforce, which take place in Spring, Summer, and Winter, to ensure that the content is correct and relevant. Aside from these complete guides, they have more traditional documentation. It is typically presented with an accompanying outline on the left and embedded links that allow you to drill down further into the topic. Overall, this official, Salesforce-maintained repository is full of useful, detailed guides is a wealth of information for the hopeful Salesforce student.

Trailblazer Community and Developer Forums
The next resource that I want to talk about is Salesforce's Trailblazer Community Feed. This is a more advanced resource where you can ask questions of your fellow Salesforce administrators. It is a highly interactive space with other users offering suggestions, tips, and in some cases detailed solutions for you, often within hours of asking the question. If you are ever stuck or having a particularly difficult time devising a solution to a Salesforce problem, this is a great place to ask for help. It is also a great learning resource; simply search for a topic that you are interested in learning and read through a few posts, oftentimes you will come across an interesting use case or a clever solution that will reinforce the concept you are trying to learn.

Similar to the Trailblazer community, there are the Developer Forums, as well as a resource hub where you can find a more developer-centric document repository and news

Community Groups
Trailhead Community Groups Salesforce meetups are a tool that I regret not leveraging as much as I could or should have. These local admin and developer groups schedule gatherings that are focused on working and learning sessions where users can collaborate, brainstorm and grow together. With over 750 groups globally and nearly 350 in the US alone, it is a great way to meet other local Salesforce professionals and grow your knowledge as well. For those that are not in a large town or city, there are virtual groups available as well. In my experience, though, these groups are full of individuals who are extremely willing to help and often are genuinely interested in your success.

Other Resources
You also have your pick of a variety of Blogs, YouTube channels, podcasts , and other online resources to further satisfy your appetite for knowledge. Blogs like SalesforceBen are a great resource, and as that link shows can be a great place to identify other resources. YouTube is a great place to find walkthroughs and guides; whether through Salesforce's official channels or other Admin/Developer content creators. There are hours upon hours of useful videos on any topic you can imagine. This blog offers up a list of official Salesforce channels and a few others that I found useful.

Salesforce Events
While the current climate of in-person events may currently be in turmoil, I do not want to understate the effectiveness of Salesforce events like Dreamforce, TrailheaDX, Salesforce World Tour, Local product/feature demos as learning tools and networking events that will introduce you to other learning resources like the aforementioned Community groups. These events present all sorts of topics in a variety of learning options; from breakout sessions to new feature presentations to hands-on guided development sessions. Keep an eye out for upcoming Salesforce events or watch archived replays of past events here.

Exam Prep
Even if you are not currently preparing to take an exam or get certified, testing and exam preparation sites can be a great learning tool. There are a number of paid exam guide services like Focus on Force, free flashcard sets uploaded by users on sites like Quizlet and Cram, detailed study guides like this, and specific trails in Trailhead that set you on the right path, and provide insight into areas of focus for passing certification exams.

So whether it's hands-on exercises, group discussions, and interaction, YouTube walkthrough tutorials, or the nearly boundless and robust documentation directly from the source; no matter what type of 'learner' you are, there are options for you to expand your skillset and grow your knowledge in Salesforce. Good luck on your Salesforce journey! I hope that I've provided you with some guidance to help you along or given you added confidence that with the right outlook and mindset, you can absolutely learn Salesforce, the learning resources are absolutely available!

We're an Austin-based Salesforce Consulting partner, with a passion and belief that the Salesforce platform's capabilities can help businesses run more efficiently and effectively. Thanks for stopping by the Roycon Salesforce blog, be sure to subscribe. If you need help, or just feel like talking Salesforce you can always contact us. For more resources to help you tackle your certification goals, check out ourUltimate Guide to Salesforce Certification Resources. Thanks for reading and as always, happy learning!

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